As Grainne was rejoicing in her moment of triumph, she let her guard slip, allowing Conchobar and some of his Red Branch to get within arm’s reach. The tiny stature of the Red Girl belied her real strength and speed, as she blindly battled the warriors, driving her blade murderously left and right. Conchobar nearly lost his handsome face to a vicious sword strike.

“By the Dagda’s arse cheeks, stop this at once___ STOP THIS NOW!” Conchobar bellowed as he wrestled the gore-splattered blade from the grasp of a furious and very much frustrated Red Girl. “Would you slay the King of Ulster?”

“Yes my Lord, with a joyous heart.” Grainne spat back as she broke away from the warriors attempting to restrain her.

Still clenching the bloody severed head of Raudh, Grainne commences a bizarre, brutal attack upon the king’s person and nearby Red Branch warriors. With deadly accuracy, Grainne uses the severed head as a weapon to rain a lightning barrage of lethal blows upon the king’s face.
Blood streamed from his crushed lips and ears. His once thin noble nose was now broken and mashed into a pulp on his once unblemished face.

Conchobar’s famous golden shield with its four golden rims; Ochain the moaner, let out a piteous keening wail, like the howling of the northern sea wind, all the shields of the Red Branch and the seas surrounding Ulster answered in kind. The shield’s wailing was a warning to the Red Branch that the Ulster King’s life was in dire peril.

“Conchobar is in danger” Cried the Red Branch warriors as one, many of them laying wounded and bleeding, others struggling to break the spell of weakness that was woven over them.

“FERGUS!!” Conchobar bawled at the top of his lunges, spitting bright red blood everywhere. “Fergus, your king is in need of your aid at once.”

Pressing on Grainne from all sides, the sheer numbers of the Red Branch were able put an abrupt end to deadly assault. The warriors were able to restrain the lithe, but very wiry girl against the banquet wall. Even then she continued her fight, lashing out with her legs at any unprotected soft target, or sinking her teeth into a forearm or hand.

A shiver ran through Grainne as she stared at the warrior Conchobar referred to as Fergus. She recognized the warrior as the one who was able to crawl to her and grasp her by the ankle. He was a veritable giant of a man in every sense of the word. His face was framed by a thick matted mane of red hair that flowed unbound into his thick tangled beard.

With ease, the giant warrior picked up the large oak table that block his path to the restrained girl, and with little effort on his part, sent the table sailing across the hall.

“Connacht-born” Roared the giant named Fergus “Fergus mac Roich is not one to slay a child in their early dawn of their summer years.” Fergus’ beard bristled like a large broom, as he spoke to the struggling girl, known to him as the Red Girl.

“That’s not wholly true, former lover of the Great Queen, murderer of children___ aye, the Morrigan spoke about you on many nights as I laid in her arms. She spoke of how you strangled your own son with your bare hands. Were you afraid of what your son would have grown-up to be___ or just afraid of what he would do to the great name of Fergus the son of the great horse, the son of Roich? Was the ageless Fergus afraid to relinquish his reign to his successor? Grainne ranted, laughing in the face of the red-haired giant, which greatly angered the man giant.

With a loud roar, Fergus wrapped Grainne’s tresses around his hand, wrenching her head up and around. “Hold that tongue in your mouth wrench, you speak of matters you are not totally familiar with.” Large blue veins bulged from Fergus’ bull-sized neck, as red-hot rage course through his body. “Our son Mechi was prophesied by the druids, that when he grew into manhood he would destroy all of Erin. His mother could not understand that he was a threat to us all.”

“She loved little Mechi very much, you destroyed that love and bond, Ulsterman. The Morrigan wishes for me to right that which you have wronged.”Saying that, Grainne twisted around in the grip of her captors, bringing a painful knee strike into Fergus’ groin, dropping the giant warrior to one knee, another strike, catches Fergus full in the face, forcing him to stagger back.

A well place elbow strike and head butt brings about a painful howl from two warriors, allowing Grainne to escape from her captors. Snatching a fallen short sword, Grainne strikes out to her left and right, then pounces on Fergus, driving her blade deep into his body.

The giant reacts by scooping the young girl in a bone-crushing bear hug, his massive mountain-sized muscles bulging to the point of bursting. Grainne again drives the blade deep into the warrior, this time to the hilt, causing him to release his crushing hold on her, and in turn causing the Red Girl to lose her weapon.

No sound was emitted from Fergus as he reaches out and grabs the Red Girl by her loose tresses, drawing her close to him. Locking eyes with each other, Grainne watched as the large warrior slowly removes the short-bladed sword from his body, all without showing any signs of pain or discomfort.

“Connacht-born, I will not taint my sword the Caladcholg, the hard-dinter on one as such as you.” Fergus growled like an angry dog, blood pouring from his open wounds with every movement he made. “Instead I will smite you as a master would smite his cur.”

Grainne did not blink or flinch as Fergus’ large bloody fist slammed into the side of her head, bringing about the warmth of sweet-black oblivion.

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